[Less pain during puncture by a peripheral venous catheter; a bibliographical review on adults]

Canalizing veins is a habitual technique carried out by nurses. Inserting a catheter in a peripheral vein causes pain. The importance of fine quality in nursing treatment implicitly bears on a person's well-being. In daily practice, health professionals do not use any method to reduce pain when inserting a catheter. The authors observations led them to believe in the need to carry out a bibliographical review whose objective was to discover all the methods used to reduce pain caused by puncturing a peripheral vein. Six randomly assigned clinical tests and a meta-analysis evaluate the effectiveness of: The use of Valsalva, an analgesic cream which contains two local amino-amide anesthetics; lidocaine and prylocaine (EMLA) compared to another analgesic cream, Myolaxin; a meta-analysis of twenty studies evaluates the degree by which pain is diminished by one such method: an EMLA cream; an anti-inflammatory skin dressing (diclofenaco), a diclofenaco dressing versus an EMLA anesthetic dressing, 0.25 ml subcutaneous injection of 1% mepivaína, an amida type local anesthetic; and direct photography moments before puncture occurs to use the effects of a flash of light. All these methods studied proved effective in reducing pain. Creams and dressing prove to be unaggressive methods but require some time for application prior to puncture. Using a camera flash, subcutaneous injection of mepivacaine and the application of Valsalva can be effective alternatives to reduce pain when puncturing veins in patients who require emergency care.